In this episode of Inside the Writer’s Head, Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson-Berne talks with Teri Robida, an editor at American Girl Publishing. They discuss the ins and outs of editing and publishing for the American Girl doll book series. Teri talks about the history of American girl dolls books and how they are unique from different publishers and presses. They also talk about what the job of an editor is like; from reading and developing stories to giving feedback with care. If you’re looking for great insight on publishing, and writing advice straight from an editor,
Thank you all so much for coming to the writer’s workshop on March 24! To say that I was nervous is like saying the Beatles were cute. But because of your benevolence and not my competence, I managed to get through it without total personal self-annihilation. And I hope a few of my fellow writers left feeling supported and confident. I’m going to post my PowerPoint here on this blog, if you couldn’t make it, and for the next three posts or so, I’m going to put up chunks of the presentation, in the
Depending on what kind of person you are, Beginning A Novel can be either intensely exciting or extremely anxiety-provoking. I tend to steer more on the anxiety side of things, so when I’ve begun stories in the past, I’ve found the following thoughts helpful: First of all, don’t be afraid that your ideas aren’t original. In fact, they are not. All of the good ideas were taken long ago – like since the beginning of storytelling. Great stories aren’t about mind-blowing rethinking of literature. They’re about good storytelling. Think of that friend who can
On this episode of Inside the Writer’s Head, Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson-Berne speaks with award-winning science and history author Mary Kay Carson – who has authored more than 50 titles for kids. They talk about how Carson transitioned from magazine editing and science background to writing kids books for a living. Carson gives her tips for writing kids non-fiction, and the joys of doing research on complex topics to find the interesting stories they can tell. The authors discuss Carson’s award-winning series “Scientists in the Field” and how Carson gets those stories by following scientists
I’ve been prepping for the first Writer-in-Residence workshop this week, an experience which has been truly eye-opening. I am a self-taught writer, in a sense. My degrees are in English Lit and in Composition-Rhetoric, both of which are about words but neither of which center on writing as a craft. I’ve taken a few creative writing classes and I certainly learned how do graduate-level research (thank you, Miami University!) but I’ve never, let’s say, been through an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program where you learn on a high level HOW.TO.WRITE. Mostly, I’ve learned
In the first episode of Season 3 of Inside the Writer’s Head, the new Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson Berne sits down to talk with Linda Leopold Strauss. Strauss authors children’s picture books, and talks about the unique writing and approval process for creating engaging illustrated stories for kids. She talks about the joys and challenges of working closely with another artist, an illustrator, to create a picture book. Strauss shares how her background has influenced her career, and how she uses it to enhance her storytelling for kids. The two authors also discuss their highest
Hive mind – are you out there? Folks, this is an interactive blog post, so wake up. On March 24, I’ll be presenting my first writer-in-residence workshop at the Main Library, from 1-4 pm. Obviously, everyone should come. But before you do – talk to me. I want to know—here in the comments section, or on Facebook at Emma Carlson Berne Books what you would like to hear about. The goal of the workshop is to talk about what happens before the manuscript: getting the idea, conceiving of characters, doing research, outlining or not—everything that
I just this minute finished reading the first two chapters of Kurt Dinan’s second novel, WANNA BET? which he’s currently revising, and hopes to have to his agent in February. WATCH OUT, WORLD. IT IS SO GOOD. I realize I’m not exactly providing a Kirkus-level review here. Funny—so funny, real, poignant (though I kind of hate that word). You already love Boone by the end of page one. Kurt! You’ve produced brilliance! And a good thing too, because this is Kurt’s official sign-off. With this blog post, he’s fulfilling the last requirement of his
So, first of all Kurt had the flu. Way to go, Kurt! Kurt Dinan and I were supposed to have an event together on Saturday, January 20. We were going to have all kinds of fun and ask each other snarky questions and he was going to read from his mind-blowing, brand-new second novel. But at the last minute, he thought he’d weasel out of this by getting the flu. Nice one, Kurt. We see right through you. You really think a 104 degree fever is a reason not to go to our event?
To be perfectly honest, I was supposed to write my first blog post yesterday. But yesterday, some of you may know, was a snow day. It was a snow day. School was cancelled. On the first day back after winter break. A seventeen-day long winter break. During which time I and my three small children – ages 9, 5 and 2 ½ – experienced so much togetherness. Children are a blessing. Children are a blessing. Say it fifty times, then make them eat cold toast for breakfast while you rage around the house, sweeping